The Life Model

The Life Model began when Jeffrey and Gisela, two of the actors in the project, began discussing a way to create a truly democratic method of storytelling, in both structure and writing style. They were mutually interested in exploring the 2011 Cairo Revolution as an environment where personal revolutions occurred for many of the people participating in the larger political revolution surrounding them. They immediatly felt the relevance of this time of hopeful upheaval, in the context of both the current upheaval surrounding US politics and the larger upheaval rippling through the world. Jeffrey then began assembling a crack team of artists who comprise the inner circle of co-writers, as well as the larger constellation of designers and storytellers contributing to this project.

Premiering at On the Boards January 13th-17th and touring in NYC shortly thereafter, The Life Model is an experimental production with artists spanning multiple continents, backgrounds and artistic specialties. It uses multimedia and shifting narrative styles to reflect, in the midst of political turmoil, four friends' personal revolutions: Ali, a young activist; Maha, a video artist; Gabriella, Maha’s cousin and expat plastic surgeon from Rio; and Henry, a visiting American artist studying on an expensive commission. The characters' perspectives are expressed through video, painting, poetry, and music/dance. Together, they explore what it means to truly see one another, be an active member of society, and effect change.

Though our first venue in Seattle, On the Boards, has been very generous in providing us with support as we formulate this project, true collaboration and a co-writing relationship requires proximity; we all need to be in the same room for a huge amount of time to make this thing happen. With your generous support, we can pay for travel fees, lodging for all of our artists, design costs, and, most importantly, we can pay our amazing team of artists an actual wage - and they should be paid! If we meet our goal of $25,000, we will be able to cover these costs. If we meet our stretch goal of $30,000, then we will be able to construct a more dynamic set design, and begin the very important task of securing venues in New York City for a second run of this amazing piece. Thank you all so much for your continued support of The Life Model!

Project Perks

A mix of Eastern-themed dance music inspired by The Life Model and created by DJ Rolls.

$75

A personalized Thank You video from The Life Model ensemble.

$100

An original EP by Christian Frederickson, New York musician and sound designer for The Life Model.

$250

An official production still from The Life Model, signed by every member of The Life Model ensemble

$500

Learn about collaboration in a rehearsal with The Life Model ensemble members! Sit in on a rehearsal of your choosing, either in New York or Seattle.

$1,000

A signed animation still by Zeina Barakeh, a Palestinian-Lebanese digital artist and the video designer of Life Model. Zeina's work is featured in New York, San Francisco, Lebanon, and many other cultural hubs.

$2,500

Dinner either in New York or in Seattle with a Life Model ensemble member of your choice.